Not so tough
by Cindy Ryan
Summary: Two shot. The events of 1x13 catch up to Chen and she finds that even Tim has a weak point in his armor
1. Chapter 1

Title: Not so tough  
author: Cindy Ryan  
spoilers: 1x13  
summary: the events of 1x13 catch up to Chen and she finds that even Tim has a weak point in his armor

Officer Tim Bradford covered a yawn with his right hand. It'd been a busy few days. He didn't know why he had agreed to pick up his rookie Lucy Chen, but here he was half hour before shift started at her apartment building. Lucy's car was in the repair shop after she'd been run off the road by revengeful gang members. She'd had trouble finding a garage that had an opening until yesterday.

Shaking his head Tim thought about what his rookie had endured in the last seventy-two hours. Being accused of stealing money from a drug bust and then to be cleared but still have three gang members track her down and nearly run her off the road. Then once out of the car Lucy was chased and held at gun point. The flash of pride Tim felt now was probably part of the reason he'd agreed to play taxi. She'd done a damn good job against three to one odds with guys twice her size.

Reaching Lucy's new apartment Tim was just about to knock when he heard a scream. Not a see a spider shriek but a horror movie ranked scream. Already in uniform Tim grabbed his weapon and pulled it out of the holster.

"Chen!"Tim called.

Another scream. Tim could count on one hand the number of times he'd seen his Rookie lose her cool. None of them had resulted in this. Something was wrong; very wrong. Taking a few steps back Tim kicked Lucy's door in. Weapon raised Tim moved quickly through the apartment. What he found caused Tim to lower his gun with a sad sigh. His rookie was in the throws of a bad nightmare. The sheets were twisted around her small form. Lucy's dark hair was a mess and she was coated in sweat. As another scream tore from her Tim holstered his weapon and sat on the edge of her bed. Gently Tim gripped her shoulders.

"Chen!"Tim shouted in his best T.O voice.

His rookie shot awake. Tim watched as Lucy blinked and stared at him trying to orientate herself. She was shaking.

"You're okay; just a dream."Tim said in a quieter tone.

Before Tim could react Lucy launched herself into his arms. He knew she was still in the after affects of the nightmare. Probably not completely awake or aware yet. Slowly, Tim closed his arms around Lucy holding her until she stopped shaking.

* * *

Lucy hadn't had a nightmare like that in a long time. It had been so real, so vivid. She'd been fighting for her life against the gang members that had her surrounded. She could feel the dirt and gravel under her hands. Could feel the rough calloused hands grabbing her; hitting her. Now she was awake and her still traumatized brain was having a hard time wrapping itself around the current situation.

Her tough training officer was sitting on her bed holding her. What the hell? How had he got in?

"Tim?"Lucy asked.

Her voice sounded a shadow of her own. Weak, hoarse, frightened.

"You're safe."Tim replied quietly.

Lucy hated to admit she was still feeling the fear from the dream, but she was. She allowed herself to take comfort in Tim's embrace and rested her head on his chest.


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Not so tough  
author: Cindy Ryan  
spoilers: 1x13  
summary: the events of 1x13 catch up to Chen and she finds that even Tim has a weak point in his armor

"Want to talk about it?"

Tim's question brought reality crashing in for Lucy. She was suddenly aware of how little she had on and who's arms she was in. Could this be any more humiliating? Tim was her T.O her career rested on his opinion.

"Oh God!"Lucy exclaimed.

She jumped three feet from Tim as if she'd been hit with an electric surge. Lucy scrambled to her feet as memories came rushing back. She must have overslept! Tim was her ride. Now they'd both be late.

"I-I overslept!"Lucy continued as she searched for clothes."I'm sorry it won't take me long..."

"Chen!"Tim interrupted.

"I know we'll be late."Lucy said as she straightened.

Tim stood and gripped her by the shoulders once more.

"Breathe."Tim instructed."We've got time."

Nodding numbly Lucy started for the door and then stopped dead. She turned back to her T.O

"How did you get in?"Lucy asked."You don't have a key."

"You were screaming."Tim explained.

Lucy buried her face in her free hand. Her neighbors would think this apartment was cursed. She could only imagine what they thought when he kicked the door in.

"Get dressed."Tim urged."I'll fix the door."

"Okay."Lucy replied and scurried to the small bathroom.

It took all of Lucy's will power to walk out of that bathroom. She didn't like anyone to see her at her weak point. To have it have been her T.O was going to change things. When she reached the living room she found Tim using her tool kit to fix the hinges on the door. He finished putting the door in place and securing it before turning to Lucy. They were silent for a moment as he put the tools away in the kit and shut the lid. She stood there awkwardly not sure what to do.

"You alright?"Tim inquired softly.

Lucy was once again struck by the polar opposite swing from the man she spent over eight hours a day with to the one who'd woken her from a nightmare. The one standing in her living room asking if she was alright. There was no mocking look, no judging; just friendly concern. Perhaps a bit of empathy.

"I'm so embarrassed."Lucy said as she sank down onto the sofa.

"For what?"Tim asked as he sat on the edge of Lucy's coffee table facing her."Being human?"

"You're my T.O"Lucy stated. "You're not supposed to see me like this."

"Chen."Tim began. "Lucy, I'd be worried if you didn't have nightmares. You've been through a lot the last few weeks. You're a boot, you don't have your street cred or armor built up yet. Takes time."

"Thank you.'Lucy said meeting Tim's gaze. "For coming to my rescue."

Tim nodded.

"You're going to need to talk about that dream to someone."Tim instructed as he stood offering Lucy a hand up. "Can't let them have too much power."

Lucy rose to her feet letting her hand remain on Tim's a bit longer as she spoke.

"I really don't want this one to have that power."Lucy said quietly as she dropped Tim's hand breaking contact. "In the dream I was losing the fight with the gang members. They...they were all attacking me. It seemed the harder I fought the worse it got..."

* * *

Not knocking Lucy's abilities as a cop but when Tim had arrived at the scene of her attack he'd expected a very different outcome. Just purely from the mathematical viewpoint. Three to one odds were nothing to sneeze at. On top of that to have them all be armed when all Lucy had was her off duty weapon with one clip.

"Don't let this go to your head."Tim responded with a bit of gruffness. "But you handled that situation better than some veterans I've seen."

Lucy flashed Tim a smile.

"Training kicked in."Lucy stated quietly. "Part of me couldn't believe what was happening; that they'd tracked me down. "

"You didn't panic, you kept your head."Tim said allowing a smile. "Glad to see you're listening to some of what I teach."

"Some?"Lucy scoffed.

Tim was glad to see a smile and some of the color returning to her face. She'd been a bit too pale when he'd awoken her from the dream.

"Come on."Tim urged opening the door. "If we leave now we may just make roll call."

Lucy grabbed her coat and bag. Took a second to double check that she had everything and followed him into the hall. She closed the door and locked it.

"If we are late, Boot you're buying lunch."Tim stated allowing a tiny bit of affection into his voice.

"I just want to start the day over."Lucy commented bleakly as they headed down the hall and outside.

They got in Tim's vehicle and a few minutes later were on the road merging with traffic. Tim watched Lucy out of the corner of his eye. He allowed himself a moment of instructors pride. She'd be one of the best on LAPD and had a long career ahead of her. Lucy may not have wanted him to see her weak, but Tim was glad he had. He hoped he'd convinced Lucy that everyone had their weak moments and it was okay not to be strong all the time.

end


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